Is the balance that has to be struck in any kind of legislation like this. Mr. Vitka i would think the most informative part there, for policy makers, would be the number of americans who are affected, and i do not mean the numbers who are targeted, that it would indicate a pretty broad number that would not drive down to something that would compromise surveillance operations. Bob, is that the case, or am i mistaken . Mr. Litt it is difficult for me to answer that. There are other considerations that go into the issues of exactly what we can and cannot report beyond is it a good idea to report this or not and those are the kinds of things in many instances that i cannot talk about in this kind of a session. Mr. Vitka would you agree it would be exculpatory for the community to say that 100,000 americans were affected versus 300 million americans . Mr. Litt i am not comfortable with the word exculpatory. People would be happier if there were smaller numbers than if there are larger num
No big deal. We are going to enforce equal pay laws. We would not say i have a religious objection to pay minimum wage. No big deal. The government can make up the salary difference. Let alone saying i refuse to fill out a form. The question about the Conscientious Objector was absolutely right. Notre dames lawyer todd is does that mean it would be a substantial burden on religious exercise . And he said yes. Even that would have to be considered a substantial burden. And that is all well and good. When someone else is losing an important benefit as a results come and that is when the has to be balance. The idea that i am entitled every possible idiosyncrasy in my beliefs is fine but as a result of those other peoples benefits that is when it crosses the line. We are going to leave it there. Clearly not something we will be able to resolve. Lets try to find areas where both sides may agree more. The most recent example that i think i have looked at is the hold against house case. Maybe
Africanamerican communities and way to reform policing in those places. This event was hosted by the center for American Progress and runs about 1. 5 hours. Good morning. My name is winnie and im the executive Vice President of external affairs here at the center for American Progress. Thank you for joining us for the important conversation about terminal Justice Reform. We are proud to be hosting it with the national network. The u. S. Is the worlds leader in incarceration with 2. 2 Million People currently in the nations jails and prisons. A 500 increase over the past 30 years. These trends have resulted in prison overcrowding at a rapidly expanding penal system despite increasing evidence that largescale incarceration is not the most effective means of achieving Public Safety. While acknowledging the need to continue working toward keeping our community safe, the impact of over criminalization and over incarceration resonates throughout our country. Between 70 and 100 million americ
We provide training. We deal with issues of implicit bias , which is a huge issue of why people do what they do and getting to understand the impact of it. We have the department of justice has a Civil Rights Division which everyone is aware of with pattern of practice investigations, most recently the agreement in cleveland. The ferguson report. We have a lot of services. And i think the way we respond to crisis, the way we respond to whats happening in the country is, one, to provide assistance to communities. I think the attorney general said it best that we cannot federalize local Law Enforcement, and thats not the intent. Theres a reason why would why we created these 16,000 departments, it was about local control. But we can help set up standards by which the 16,000 agencies should be able to follow. And we should assure that whether its two officers or 20,000, that they are engaging in constitutional policing and that the impact to the community is the same. We can also provide
Officials sworn to protect them hoping to further fuel the call for comprehensive criminal Justice Reform. The center for American Progress and to the criminal Justice Reform space to add our voice and resources to the vital policy debate and the efforts to reform the criminal Justice System at the state and federal level. Were working to make the criminal Justice System more equitable and fair. This work includes urging policy changes that would keep our communities safe while ending mass incarceration over criminalization, particularly as it impacts poor communities and communities of color, supporting policies that remove barriers to socioeconomic opportunities for those with criminal records and supporting ways to address the racial and socioeconomic inequities within the criminal Justice System itself. Many many of the reforms being discussed would actually promote and enhance the safety of our communities. We are proud to be collaborating to present todays discussion of how we ca